US and Canadian Funds Co-lead
OTTAWA, Canada, January 31, 2002 -- Spotwave Wireless, a wireless technology company solving the reception problems common to cellular phones, today announces second-round investment financing of CDN $23.9M (US$15M). This brings the total venture capital raised within eight months time to CDN$27M. The funding provides Spotwave Wireless with resources to drive continued product development and grow activities in sales, marketing and product delivery.
Newbury Ventures and VenGrowth Capital Partners led the financing round. Also participating were Venturelink and Working Ventures and existing investors Venture Coaches and Primaxis Technology Ventures Inc. Graham Matthews of VenGrowth will join the Spotwave Board of Directors.
"Raising this amount of capital, despite very difficult market conditions, validates our business plan and the ability of our team to execute that plan," remarked Shane Young, President and CEO. "VCs of the stature of Newbury and VenGrowth are investing because industry leaders see the value in our product."
"Newbury Ventures focuses on investments in emerging communication companies," said Conrad Lewis, Venture Partner for Newbury Ventures and Spotwave Board Member. "We were impressed that Spotwave has already delivered product to several lead North American customers. Spotwave's rapid progress is based on a clear vision that is directly linked to real customer problems, together with a proven ability to execute."
"Our analysis showed a significant demand for products that solve wireless coverage problems," commented VenGrowth General Partner Graham Matthews. "Spotwave has the product and core team to go after that market."
"Three out of ten wireless customers switch providers every year. Poor sound quality, inadequate coverage, and dropped calls plague the wireless industry worldwide," said John Cusack, President, Wireless Consulting, Inc. "It boils down to basic quality-of-service issues that wireless customers deal with every single day. Voice is the 'killer app', with wireless data coming on strong, but the fanciest cell phone, or wireless PDA, are useless if you don't have decent coverage."
"We believe Spotwave has the right approach to the market today with products that increase performance and reliability of cell phone coverage while dramatically decreasing cost. The innovative technologies that Spotwave is developing will help wireless carriers solve coverage and reliability issues for the growing number of wireless subscribers. These issues are becoming even more important with the increasing use of wireless data services such as email and the mobile Internet," said Shane Young, CEO and President, Spotwave Wireless.
Spotwave Wireless provides carrier-approved, intelligent indoor coverage solutions that seamlessly bring the outdoor signal inside – ensuring that cell phones and wireless devices work reliably indoors. Changing the economics of in-building wireless coverage, Spotwave's solutions are cost-effective, quick and easy to install, and require no maintenance. Spotwave solutions are also backed by a range of comprehensive installation services and support and are now the preferred coverage solution in networks operated by the top North American cellular and PCS carriers. The company website is www.spotwave.com.
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Spotwave, Spotwave Wireless and SpotCell are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Spotwave Wireless Inc.
Jamie Crawford
Tel: (613) 591-1662 ext. 298
Email: jamie.crawford@spotwave.com
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